Ephesians 1:18-21 “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”
As we go about our daily lives it is easy for our flesh to take control. Our responses and interactions become canned and predictable. It is time that we open our eyes and walk and live in the Spirit. God has greater things in store but He wants us to look beyond our circumstances to the bigger picture.
Paul is writing to the Believers in the book of Ephesians in these verses. Even though God has opened their eyes to their need for salvation, he realizes that they need to have their eyes opened wider to greater understanding and Truth. He is asking God to appeal to their emotions, their intelligence and their will. There are Christians who are intellectually lazy or indifferent and proclaim that knowing Jesus is enough; however, Paul knows that there is danger in not growing in the faith and seeking to understand the ways of the Lord.
Whenever we get a new kitchen gadget or electrical device it usually comes with an owner's manual. I'm telling on myself here, but wouldn't you say that most people fling the manual aside and set in to try to figure out on their own how it works. And we wonder why we can't get it to work the way it's supposed to. Well, we can relate this to the Bible and our Christian faith. God has given us clear directions on how to live the Christian faith in His Word. Unfortunately, there are cafeteria Christians who pick and choose the scripture verses they heed with less care than deciding on lunch. There are others who select scripture based on their own biases. Neither of these approaches are the true essence of a life of a true Follower of Jesus Christ. The Bible is God's written Word which distinguishes His special relationship between Himself and man. It contains foundational truths relating to the real world and how God expects us to respond in it. It is a book we can trust and should trust to guide us through the experiences of life but if we are not continually engaged in reading it, we have no idea what to expect or how to deal with what life brings our way.
It is time for us to get on our knees, seek God's face and habitually read His Word so that He is able to speak to us, to pour into us all that He desires us to learn and know as we go about re-presenting Him to this fallen world. It is time to take our faith seriously and engage others, hopefully drawing them closer to our King! If you aren't involved in a Bible Study group I want to challenge you to seek to find one soon. You will not only be blessed by the reading and hearing of God's word but you will benefit immensely from the fellowship. What do you say? Give it a try!
_______________________________
Personalize this prayer.
Dear Lord,
Open my eyes, Lord, my spiritual eyes and enlighten me with understanding. You’ve promised that if I call on You, You will teach me great an unsearchable things that I do not know. I call on You, Jesus, and want to receive all that You have for me. Quicken me heart to be aligned with You at every turn. Bring me out into the light. I realize, Lord, that sometimes the light hurts, especially if I am having troubles; however, show me how to yield to Your leading and walk in the way You desire. As I read Your Word I pray that I would sense Your presence in a mighty way and that You would show me what I need to know in this season of my life. Then, Lord, please help me to walk in Your ways and be that light that You desire to shine among all you send my way. You are my light and salvation and I so desire to live for You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
#canned #predictable #Ephesians #eyesofyourheart #enlightened #hope #calledyou #richesofHisgloriousinheritance #glorious #inheritance #saints #power #believe #workingofHismightystrength #strength #Christ #raisedHimfromthedead #seatedHimatHisrighthand #heavenlyrealms #ruleandauthority #powerdominion #presentage #dailylives #flesh #takecontrol #responses #interactions #liveinthespirit #circumstances #biggerpicture #Believers #openedtheireyes #salvation #wider #understanding #Truth #appealtotheiremotions #intelligence #will #intellectuallylazy #indifferentproclaim #knowingJesus #Jesus #understandthewaysoftheLord #newkitchengadget #electricaldevice #ownersmanual #manual #howitworks #Bible #Christianfaith #cafeteriaChristians #scripture #verses #lunch #biases #approaches #trueessence #lifeofatrueFollowerofJesusChrist #BibleisGodswrittenWord #specialrelationship #man #foundationaltruths #book #bookwecantrust #guide #experiencesoflife #eengaged #reading #whatlifebrings #knees #seekGodsface #habituallyreadHisWord #speaktous #pourintous #representing #fallenworld #faithseriously #enegageothers #King #BibleStudy #fellowship #spiritualeyes #enlightenuswithunderstanding #unsearchable #quickenourhearts #alignedwithYou #light #troubles #yeildtoYourleading #presenceseasonofmylife #walkinYourways #shineamongall #lightsalvation